Edinburgh

Restaurants

Travel

See With Iolla

Saturday, 20 August 2016

It's been four years since I started wearing glasses and since then I've become very firm in what I like in a pair of specs. When you wear glasses, all day every day, they almost become like a little part of you so I think it's really important to get a pair that you love. I was invited along to the Iolla showroom in Glasgow to see what they have to offer in terms of glasses. The shop is on Argyle Street in Finnieston. Being in the West End of Glasgow you'd expect it to be quite hip and you wouldn't be wrong!

When we arrived at the store I was really impressed with the decor of the shop. It was really modern with exposed brick etc but still kept lots of little Scottish touches as well. The word 'Iolla' means sight in the Scottish Gaelic language so I guess that's only fitting. The staff as well were really helpful, explaining how their pricing system etc worked and leaving us to try on some glasses for ourselves although they were also happy to help with recommendations.

For such a small shop they did have a pretty wide range of styles. I personally like a very casual pair of glasses because I wear mine every day but they also had some really 'wow' statement glasses for those who are a little braver than me and want to go out there. All the glasses can be changed into polarised sunglasses as well which is really handy. As a glasses wearer I always feel like I miss out on all the fun of sunglasses!

One of my favourite things about the Iolla range was that the glasses all come in a range of colours. This is really good as I think the colour of glasses contributes so much to the overall look of the frame. I used to always go for plain black glasses as I felt they suited me best but I've since realised that black glasses are very bold and that non-black glasses suit me a lot better. I was really taken by the Havana Pink Layer shade which was available in a few pairs and then decided which pair to go for from there.

Another thing that I loved about the showroom was that they don't really separate glasses by gender. I've actually started paying more attention to the mens section when in Specsavers as I've actually found some gems there. But by not separating by gender I think it makes you try on styles you wouldn't originally seek out.

So what did I go for in the end? I was stuck between two pairs but in the end I selected a pair of Havana Pink Layer Muir glasses* and I'm really glad I did. With a cat eye shape it's a little different from what I usually go for and so for me they are a little bit of a statement pair. I was fitted for them by a really helpful sales assistance. The glasses will be ready withing a week and you can either collect from the store or get them delivered. As I'm Edinburgh bases delivery was obviously the best option!

I am really impressed with the glasses. I've had them for about two weeks now and I love wearing them. They've also gotten a lot of compliments and they stand out a lot. I've shopped around for glasses a lot and I can honestly say that these are the only glasses that I feel match the quality of the glasses I've bought from my opticians. The frames and lenses feel of great quality and I'm really glad to have this pair in my collection.

So lets talk money. Iolla frames are £65 which definitely isn't the cheapest but I think that it's a lot cheaper than you could easily spend when buying glasses from most high street opticians. I don't really think that you should try and cheap out on glasses that you'll wear a lot. Your sight is so important so you should really look after it! The store has a really nice atmosphere and was much busier than I expected it to be on a Saturday afternoon. It seems like Glasgow locals are really big fans of Iolla and I would definitely go back as I'm really impressed with their glasses. £65 is definitely worth it for a pair of these!